Public Discussion and Performance: Longterm Longtable

Accountability, accessibility and call-out culture in #MeToo

November 4, 2018, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.

A model of the event layout.

This weekend, participate in a dinner party where conversation is the only course. Concordia’s Feminist Media Studio is partnering with the 13th edition of the HTMLLES Festival, “Beyond the # — Failures and Becomings,” to present Longterm Longtable by A.A.S.K. Montreal collective.

The event takes place Saturday, November 3 and Sunday, November 4. The public is invited, free of charge, to gather together around the table to examine the success of #MeToo in activating social change and consider its failure to adequately account for race, class, ability and gender diversity in enabling survivors to demand accountability.

“Referencing performance artist Lois Weaver’s Long Table idea, Longterm Longtable situates important conversations surrounding accessibility, accountability and call-out culture as one that is long-term,” says the A.A.S.K. collective. “When we did this event in the past, we witnessed a collective intelligence and the emergence of themes that rarely get spoken explicitly. The Long Table format allows for voices to be heard equally, disrupting hierarchical notions of ‘expertise.’”

Attendees are invited to participate according to their comfort level: those who wish to speak sit at the table while those who wish to listen are seated in the spectator chairs along the walls of the room. You can move from or to the table at any time. The hosts provide an etiquette sheet and starter questions to encourage respectful dialogue. Light snacks will be provided.

“A flurry of conversations have emerged online around #MeToo,” says Krista Lynes, Director, Feminist Media Studio. “The movement’s founder Tarana Burke argues that we need to shift the conversation, looking at how we demand accountability and how we seek justice. With this event, we hope to offer a space for a productive and challenging in-person conversation, where we can all share the thoughts and critiques we have been ruminating over since the #MeToo movement emerged.”